Cabin Sole Replacement

[laika]

The sole boards in my aft cabin have delaminated and need replacing. The current boards are ply painted in a sort of thick brown bilge paint and were under some manky carpet. The rest of the boat has teak and holly laminate flooring. Having looked at the price of the teak and holly stuff I'm inclined to replace the delaiminated boards with plain ply and cover with new carpet.

Is there any benefit to using marine ply over exterior ply for this purpose, and what should I use to coat the wood? I've read suggestions of epoxy (would this just be one coat of regular epoxy?) or varnish (but what kind, what preparation would be required and how many coats?). Please forgive my utter ignorance of wood-lore. It'd be nice to have the flooring look nice if uncovered, but as that cabin shouldn't get soggy boots over it I'm happy to have it carpeted.

 

[saltylegs]

I used standard marine ply and Ronseal hardglaze about 5 coats starting 50/50 with thinners working up to 100% varnish then used 5mm (IIRC) cream coloured PVC tape used for stripes on cars then another 3 or 4 coats of varnish.

 

[jant]

we have just had our sole covered with Tekdeck, the rubber synthetic alternative. We chose teak with white inlays, so it mimics teak & holly ply.... It looks very good, cost £250.00. Time will tell on it's durability but as the stuff is designed for exterior i hope we have bought wisely! Boat is a 1973 nantucket clipper


Fair winds

Jant

 

[TradewindSailor]

Marine ply or exterior? Doesn't matter that much if you paint it with epoxy resin, and you may get some exterior ply with some interesting veneers.

I used West Systems Z207 clear coat resin with standard hardener .... 3 coats, no thinning, as specified .... settles out like glass and tough as old boots ... and clear to boot. One coat on the underside and edges. As with all epoxy resins you must get the proportions of hardener / resin pretty close or it will not set thoroughly.

 

[rob2]

The difference in specification between marine ply and WBP (water and boil proof) exterior grades is that marine ply is not allowed any voids in the plies, whereas in WBP should a knot have fallen out, the void is filled with adhesive. For an interior, flat panel WBP will do fine. For longevity, coat in epoxy before the finish of your choice and ensure the edges are well coated to prevent water ingress and delamination, the Rolls Royce tratment would be to do at least two coats on the working surface with a layer of scrim cloth in the coating - it will give a tougher finish. Again if you're after the best finish, overcoat the epoxy on the exposed face with UV filtering varnish or your choice of opaque paint. Over the years, keeping UV off the epoxy will stop it from breaking down. If you're going to re-carpet it, then a couple of coats of epoxy will suffice but often the finish looks so good after the epoxy it is tempting to leave it on show.

Rob.